Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Educational Trip to Australia.

Assalamualaikum and Hi to all.

For this week entry, there is one particular website that I would like to share which is beneficial for teachers as well as students to make use of the available resources for language teaching and learning. It is called the National Film and Sound Archive which contain hundreds of audio and video clips related to the Australian context. Although the topics are about Australian environment, teachers are still able to use this website for learning purposes because this website also provide guidelines of how the materials can be used in class. It is also a good tool for learning Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) as the students get to learn the language through particular content. For example, students in Malaysia will also be able to explore this website and learn about Australian community as well as improving their English as a second language. Apart from that, it also offers a range of topics that teachers can choose from such as history, ceremony, arts, education a lot more. So teachers and students can choose the topic of their interest, see the video and also download it if they wish to. The process of streaming and downloading the audio or video clip is not complicated as they web developer has provide clear instructions and it can just be done with a click.

Variety of topics available.

Need some guide?

As I mentioned, this website is easy to operate and I have explored one particular section which I will show you the content. The section that I choose is Arts Portal.

Arts Portal section

There are two main sections under this topic which visual arts and performance arts. This two topics are similar and you can just choose which topics suit you best. There is also a clear description of what this section is all about so that you will be able to get a general overview of the section. Apart from that, there are also featured videos suggested in the page which are related to the topic.

List of labels, featured video and highlighted clips available.

If you click on one of the topics ( visual or performing arts), you will be taken to the requested page and there will be a list of labels which relates to the previous topic that you have chosen. there will also be a suggested video and highlighted clips that relates to the topic. Then you will be able to see video and audio clip suggestions that are arranged according to the level of the students. There will also be suggestions for classroom activity as well as further resources for students to access.

Different levels to choose from.

Available video to stream and download, description
of the video, suggestion for activity and further
resources.

Advantages of the website.

1. It has variety of topics to choose from which make the learning process become interesting. This is because students can choose the topic of their interest.

2. Students have the opportunity to learn about other culture and develop the language from the materials.

3. The archive is arranged in different levels so that it will be easier for learners to choose clips based on their level.

4. The quality of video is very satisfying even if you download it.

5. The topics are well organised that it helps users a lot to locate their preferred clips.

6. Students get to share the materials on Facebook as well as twitter which is good as it allows interaction with other people.

Disadvantages of the website.

1. One particular thing that I dislike the most is the audio provided when you enter the Arts Portal section. There is no control button and the audio will go on until you click on another subtopic, which is very annoying.

2. The content is limited to the Australian context, which may not be familiar to some students and may result in less effective in language learning.